Novelty hat



Jan. 18, 1955 J H. BYERS ETAL 2,699,553

NOVELTY HAT Filed Dec. 22, 1952 NOVELTY HAT J. Harold Byers, Washington,D. C., and Raymond R. Colton, New York, N. Y.

Application December 22, 1952, Serial No. 327,343

2 Claims. (Cl. 2 -175) This invention relates to new and usefulimprovements in wearing apparel, and particularly to a new and usefulimprovement in the field of novelty. hats. In: its structural aspectsthis invention relates to construction enabling the user to mountvisible symbols or insignia in a manner facilitating interchangethereof.

This invention has for its objects: the provision of a novel item ofapparel serving purposes of amusement or entertainment, and suitable forwearing by young and old when the occasion demands; the provision of ahat of unusual design having means whereby the wearer may at willreadily create a display which he desires to exhibit; the provision ofmeans whereby the display may be changed by replacing the characters orsymbols thereof; the provision of means whereby symbols or insignia suchas letters or numerals can be mounted for wearing in the conventionalmaterial of apparel; and to so construct such displays as to renderpossible their illumination, as by an artificial source of light, inorder to enhance and render the displays more elfective.

Novelty hats enjoy current widespread popularity. The vogue for unusualand unique designs has reached marked proportions among the youngergeneration. The interest in this type of wear however is'not confined tothe very young, nor to any particular historical period or geographicalarea.

nited States Patent 0 Although a considerable number of designs fornovelty hats have appeared on the market, the majority of these arecharacterized by relatively unimpressive accessories and designs whichhave little or no special function. The user of a hat of currentavailability is provided with no incentive or opportunity to participatein modifying its characteristics. Moreover, the field of novelty hatshas been singularly barren of any provision whereby the wearer could,through selection and arrangement of display devices, conveyintelligence making known to others the tenor of his sentiments inmatters of mutual interest and common concern.

Proceeding in accordance with our invention we have discovered that itis possible to provide wearers with a hat of unusual, unique, and novelcharacteristics, and one, moreover, which can be modified at the will ofthe owner to conform to and announce brief names, slogans, or otherselected displays. Further, in accordance with our invention, anattention attracting display is afforded whereby the wearer may announceby means of illuminated symbols, words or numbers, or combinationsthereof, a name, event, time, locality, or other matter which the wearerdesires to advocate or approve, or for any reason make manifest.

Proceeding in accordance with our invention, the difficulties indeveloping a hat that could carry illuminated symbols, which could beworn with comfort, and which would provide means for replacing thesymbols, were overcome in an unusual manner as will hereinafter bedescribed by example.

For purposes of illustration reference may be had to the accompanyingdrawings wherein certain embodiments of our invention are set forth infull detail:

Fig. 1 is a view in elevation of a hat made in accordance with ourinvention.

Fig. 2 represents a section of the hat shown in Fig. l, with the symbolsand the strip that attaches the symbols to the material of the hatremoved in order to show one mode of construction.

Fig. 3 is a section along line 33 of Fig. 1 the structure whereofcorresponds to that of Fig. 2.

wire conduits attached to the source,

Fig. 4 shows a portion of a hat having the design of Fig. 1, the symbolsremoved, the strip in place, but having a construction in certainrespects different from that of Fig. 2 as. will hereinafter becomeapparent.

Fig. 5 shows in elevation a portion of the strip whereon is mounted theletter B.

Fig. 6 shows a sectional view taken along line 6 6 of Fig. 5, displayingin detail the manner of mounting of the letter on the strip.

Fig. 7 shows the strip that holds the symbols in place.

These drawings taken in conjunction with the ensuing descriptionconstitute a full disclosure of a preferred embodiment of our invention,and in general comprise, as can readily be ascertained, a hat having abody portion formed of any desired material, a slotted zone extending atleast partially around the circumference of the hat crown, a stripremovably insertable by means of said slits and adaptable to receiveslides or clasps bearing alphabetical symbols, the entire display beingiiluminated, if desired, by means of an incandescent electric lamp,deriving its current from a conventional source through electric thelatter being not shown.

In detail, Figs. 1, 2, 3, and 4 show a hat the body whereof isdesignated as 10, having a zonal portion 11, wherein are positionedslots 12 constituted by vertical cuts or narrow openings adapted toreceive strip 13. This zonal portion may be provided with openings orwindows 14, as particularly shown in Fig. 2 and Fig. 3, or these may beomitted as shown in Fig. 4. The letters: A, B, C, and D shown in Fig. 1may be mounted on strip 13 by provision of slides 15, constituted from asingle piece of material of relatively rigid character having bent overend portions 16 which engage the edges of the strip 13 while permittingfree horizontal sliding movement along the length of the strip.

In the form shown the hat is provided with an internally located sourceof illumination derived from an incandescent electric lamp 17, mounted.in a socket 13 attached in any suitable manner to the body of the hat,as by adhesive, rivets, pins, thread, or auxiliary supporting means.Flexible Wire shown by 19 and 20 connects the lamp with a source ofelectric current. The latter may be supplied from any suitable orconventional supply such for example as a small battery composed offlashlight cells, and the lamp if desired may be intermittently lightedby means. of a switch or relay manually or automatically operated. Whilenot illustrated in the drawings, we contemplate providing a small,lightweight battery with hand operated switch that can be carried in thepocket of the wearer where it will be accessible for manual operation.

It will be understood that the owner is able to select letters of hischoice. He may thus display the name of an admired actor, athlete,canditate, or he may show the name of his school, team, or locality, orhe may exhibit a slogan. In any event he may change the letters or numbers to suit any desired purpose or occasion, and the change can beeflected quickly and without difiiculty. In mounting the letters, thestrip is woven alternately through the slots in the material and theslides 15, thus bringing the slides in contact with the outward exposedportions of the strip, in manner readily ascertainable from thedrawings. In the case of the modification used as shown in Fig. 2, theslides are in register with windows 14, and in the case of themodification used as shown in Fig. 4, the slides are in register with aportion of the body of the hat, the material of which thereby forms abackground.

Embodiments according to our invention admit of a considerable range ofvariations. Preferably the strip 13 shown in the drawings is formed of aplastic material that has the property of transmitting light. The slides15 are likewise formed from light transmitting material, and

the letters may be formed of any suitable material, but in general thesemay be formed from plastic, of which there are a number of typesavailable. We have found that exceptionally good results may be had ifthe strip and the slides are made from light transmitting plastic, andif the letters are formed from fluorescent plastic. Suitable 0 for thispurpose are the plastics known as acrylic plastics.

Except as otherwise designated, by the term material .as used herein,and in thev subjoined claims, we contem- 'thetic fiber, or non-wovenmaterial such as felt, leather,

rubber, plastic, whether soft and pliable or stiffened by sizing agentsor by manner of construction or both, and

in general we refer to that class of material well understood by thoseengaged in the commercial and mercantile arts relating to wearingapparel.

Except as may otherwise be designated, by the term light transmitting werefer to the properties of certain plastics whereby they transmit light,either by virtue of transparency, translucence, or by the propertywhereby certain plastics are known as apparently conducting light aroundnon-linear paths, a well known phenomenon, use

'ful in the premises, a description of which is not necessary to anunderstanding of our invention, since it will be understood the lightfrom the lamp will be effective regardless of whether the light reachesthe'field to be illuminated by transparence or by conduction. We do notexclude the phenomena whereby certain plastic substances, now available,display fluorescent properties, and for achieving novel effects, weprefer to use, at least for the letters or symbols themselves, suchfluorescent plastics.

We have found that when the symbols, slides and strip are set up asdescribed in the foregoing paragraph, light from the incandescent lampilluminates the exposed portions of the slides and strip, and this istransmitted to the letters or symbols. We have found that in themodification shown in Fig. 4, light falling on the strip from within, istransmitted through the plastic thereof to the letters or symbolsexternally.

Suitable modifications of our device within the ambit of our inventionmay be advantageously employed. The electric lamp may be mounted in anysuitable location of lamps may be employed. If desired a reflector ofconventional or any suitable design may be provided in order to bringthe light into better distribution on the illuminated area. The wiresleading from the light to the battery and switch or relay preferably arelight and flexible.

If desired the battery may be mounted in or on the hat although we' donot prefer this construction.

A desirable variation may be introduced by following the illustrationsin Figs. 2 and 5 respectively, and where the width of the distancebetween the slots has been exwhether centrally or peripherally, and oneor a plurality combined with fluorescent display would enhance theeffect in certain cases. While in order to produce intermittentillumination an ordinary push button switch can be provided and carriedwhere it will be accessible to the user, as for example in the coatpocket with the battery, resort may be had to any conventional orsuitable flasher of automatic design, such as that by which the currentcan be broken by heat operated bimetallic make-and-break contact.

From the foregoing description of certain embodiments of our invention,further constructional details within the scope of the invention may beapparent or developed. We have described examples by way of illustrationand not of limitation, and what we claim and desire to protect byLetters Patent is as follows:

1. A novelty hat having interchangeable symbols removably mounted on thecrown thereof, said crown being provided with a series of slits ofsubstantially parallel alignment and substantially uniform length, saidcrown being provided with cut-away portions between said slits, a stripof light transmitting material threaded through said slits and coveringsaid cut-away portions, whereby light transmitting windows are formed,said strip being provided with slides formed from light transmittingmaterial, said slides being removably attached to said strip by means ofend portions engaging the edges of said strip, and being aligned injuxtaposition to said cut-away portions, said slides bearing selectedsymbols, and illuminating means carried by said crown in relativelyfixed position thereto, whereby said symbols may be illuminated.

2. A novelty head covering having interchangeable symbols removablymounted thereon, said head covering being provided with a series ofspaced apart slits of substantially parallel alignment and substantiallyuniform length, a strip of material threaded through said slits, saidstrip being provided with slides positioned between said slits, saidslides being removably attached to said strip by means of end portionsengaging the edges of said strip, and being provided with selectedsymbols.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS FranceFeb. 28, 1908

